Will my husband's early SS filing affect my survivor benefits at 61? No work credits of my own

sorry for ur loss. my mom was in similar situation when dad died. SSA will use his actual benifit amount he was getting when he died to figure out yours, if he took it early then yes it will be less than if he waited

I'm very sorry for your loss. The answer is a bit more nuanced than the previous comment suggests. You'll receive the higher of: 1. The benefit your husband was receiving at his death, or 2. 82.5% of his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is what he would have received at his Full Retirement Age (FRA) This is called the "widow(er)'s limit" or "RIB-LIM" provision. So if your husband took benefits early, you might still receive a benefit based on his unreduced PIA. Then your age reduction (71.5% at age 61) would be applied to that amount. I strongly recommend making an appointment with SSA to discuss your specific situation, as they can calculate the exact numbers based on your husband's earnings record.

Getting an appointment with SSA right now is NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE!!! I've been trying for WEEKS for my own widow benefits and can't get through on the phone. It's absolutely ridiculous how they expect elderly people to deal with this system when we're grieving!!! The online system keeps giving me errors and the local office is booked for MONTHS.

To provide some additional technical clarification on the earlier responses: The RIB-LIM rule that was mentioned is designed specifically to protect survivors when the deceased worker claimed benefits early. Here's how it works: If your husband claimed early at age 62, he would have received approximately 75% of his PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). As his widow, you would be entitled to the higher of: 1. 100% of what he was receiving (his reduced benefit) 2. 82.5% of his PIA (the special RIB-LIM rule amount) After determining that base amount, your age reduction for claiming at 61 (71.5%) would be applied. You can request a Social Security statement that will show exactly what your husband was receiving. Bring your marriage certificate, his death certificate, and your ID when you meet with SSA.

The other thing nobody mentioned is you should apply for the one-time death benefit of $255. It's not much but every little bit helps. My condolences on your loss.

when my husband died i had so much trouble with ssa they kept asking for more paperwork every time i called its like they dont want to pay me whats mine i finally got benefits but it took 4 months and i nearly lost my house waiting

One more important note: If your husband was receiving a government pension from work not covered by Social Security (like some federal, state, or local government jobs), the Government Pension Offset (GPO) might affect your survivor benefits. It's essential to mention this to SSA if it applies. Also, survivor benefits should be applied for promptly as they can only be backdated for up to six months. Given the current processing times, I'd recommend applying as soon as possible, even if you don't have all documentation ready. You can always provide additional documents later.

After trying for weeks, I finally got through to SSA about my survivor benefits using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. What I learned is that my wife had claimed early at 62, but I still got the higher amount based on that RIB-LIM rule others mentioned. The agent even said many people who answer the phones don't understand it correctly, so it's worth specifically asking about. The call saved me thousands of dollars over my lifetime.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information. I've written down questions about the RIB-LIM provision to ask specifically when I speak with SSA. I'll try calling them tomorrow morning, and if I can't get through, I might try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. I'm still grieving, but knowing what to expect helps me feel a little more in control of the situation. I'll update here once I've been able to speak with SSA about my specific benefit calculation.